> "Not all that sleeps is dead. Some things simply wait for the unwary step, to pull them into the heart of unmaking."
> — Ancient Texts of the Drowned East, Consumed by the Tide
>
The air on the small, mud-soaked island was thick with mist, the smell of decay, and the chilling, mournful wailing of the Ashen Choir fading behind them. Before Ash and his companions, rising from the churning, dark waters of the Drowned East, was a sight of unimaginable horror. It was a colossal, living island, a grotesque mass of decaying flesh, ancient bones, and rusted metal. Covered in weeping moss and perpetually shrouded in a dense, unnatural fog, this was the Throne Below. From its depths, a thousand faint, despairing whispers rose, a chilling symphony of lost souls. Ash's Shard of Harmony and Chaos pulsed with absolute dread, recognizing the raw, immense power of Death and Void radiating from the monstrous entity.
"By the Ancestors," Lyra whispered, her face pale, her usual practicality giving way to raw horror. She clutched her hunting knife, though it seemed useless against such a monstrous, living thing. "What is that?"
Kael's face was grim. Even his Path of Frost's detachment could not completely shield him from the pervasive chill of oblivion emanating from the Throne Below. He gripped his sword, his gaze fixed on the horrifying landscape of decay. "It feels like... everything ends there."
Master Elara, his old body trembling, struggled to articulate his terror. "The Throne Below... it is more than just a place. It is a buried kingdom, said to be ruled by a fallen shardbearer of immense power, consumed by the Shard of Death and Void centuries ago. It is a nexus of absolute negation, a place where reality thins and all life eventually gives way to nothingness."
Ash felt the sheer, overwhelming power of Death and Void from the Throne Below. It pulled at his Shard of Harmony and Chaos, threatening to dissolve his very essence. This wasn't merely imposing order or chaos; this was an attempt to impose nothingness. His Core of Binding felt strangely inert here, as if even Lord Valerius's ambitious Will had no sway against absolute unmaking.
"This is the heart of the Path of the Hollow," Selene murmured, her voice strangely resonant, almost drawn. Her twilight eyes glowed faintly as she stared at the Throne Below. Ash felt a profound pull from the living island directly towards Selene, a magnetic force that was almost consuming her. Her own latent power, tied to Death and Void, was reacting to its source.
"Selene!" Ash gasped, seeing her step forward, drawn by an invisible current.
"It calls to me," Selene whispered, her eyes wide, but her face was filled with a chilling fascination. "It knows my Path. It offers understanding beyond the veil of life and death, an ultimate embrace of the void."
Suddenly, the monstrous island pulsed with dark energy. The whispers intensified, no longer despairing, but beckoning, seductive. From the living flesh of the Throne Below, spectral figures began to emerge—not weeping forms of grief, but silent, empty husks, like shadows torn directly from the void. They drifted towards them, their hollow eyes fixed on Selene.
"These are the Souls of Negation," Elara cried, his voice breaking. "They seek to draw all life into the void's embrace! They are guardians of the Throne Below!"
Selene did not flinch. She took another step towards the rising spectral figures, her body trembling slightly, but her gaze unwavering. "This is a profound test, Ash. My Path… it is tied to this truth."
Ash knew they couldn't let Selene be consumed. He grabbed her arm. "No! We need you!" He pulled at her, but her focus was elsewhere, drawn by the irresistible call of the void.
Captain Valerius's presence, distant but relentless, still nagged at the back of Ash's mind. They were out of time. They couldn't stay on this exposed island. And the Throne Below was calling to Selene, pulling her towards its terrifying, unmaking heart.
"We must go onto the Throne Below," Ash decided, his voice firm, though his heart pounded with dread. "Selene, can you create a path? A way to suppress its devouring pull, even for a moment?"
Selene turned, her eyes still distant, then focused on Ash, a flicker of clarity returning. "My Path of the Hollow can do so. Create a temporary void, a path through negation. But it will require immense focus. And it will be a direct entry into its essence."
Kael stepped forward, his grim determination solidifying. "Then let's go. We'll face whatever lies within that nightmare. Better the known horror than to be unmade by standing still."
With a shared nod, Ash and Selene prepared. Selene extended her hands towards the Throne Below, and dark, shimmering energy flowed from her, pushing back against the encroaching spectral figures. It was a wave of pure negation, carving a fragile path of temporary non-existence onto the grotesque surface of the living island.
Ash, sensing her strain, placed his hand on Selene's back, pouring his Harmony into her, strengthening her focus. He used the Core of Binding to impose Will on the unstable void Selene was creating, attempting to solidify the temporary path.
As they took their first terrifying steps onto the surface of the Throne Below, the flesh-and-bone ground squelched beneath their boots. The air grew heavy, silent, oppressive, as if every sound, every spark of life, was being slowly, inexorably absorbed. The myriad whispers of lost souls rose around them, and Ash felt the immense, living power of Death and Void pulling at him, threatening to unravel his very being. Just as he stumbled, he heard a chilling, familiar voice echo from the depths of the Throne Below, a voice filled with ancient authority and cold command, calling directly to Selene: "Welcome... my child... the true Path of the Hollow awaits... Your purpose... begins..."
Selene gasped, her body stiffening. Her eyes, wide with sudden, profound recognition and a terrifying, dawning understanding, stared into the gloom. Ash felt her Path of the Hollow roar to life, not as a controlled power, but as an uncontrollable surge, pulling her deeper, drawing her towards the heart of the Throne Below. She was being claimed, not by force, but by a terrifying, inherent connection to the realm of Death and Void itself.